Many plants will grow in shady areas of the garden - some with quite spectacular flowers. Shaded areas can be bought to life - if you use the right plants.
Shade from house walls can mean either dry or damp, depending upon which aspect of the wall. North facing will be cold and often damp, whereas the South facing wall will normally be dry - for summer at least.
For summer bedding plants, you cannot beat the ordinary Busy Lizzie (Impatiens) for shaded areas - and they don’t come much prettier than that.
Helleborus orientalis - Where I used to live, there is a mature Cedar tree - under which is ‘permanent shade’- but lightened up with a lovely selection of Helleborus orientalis. The flowers start from February into March - just when you need a bit of colour, after a long winter.
You may also be interested in Climbing Plants for Shade
For dry shaded areas you can also try some of the Epimediums - especially Epimedium perraldianum and also some of the Lamiums , (with these you get the benefit of pretty flowers and also pretty leaves).
Pulmonarias (L) are also suitable for a good flower show in the spring - followed by spectacular foliage on some varieties. Liriope muscari and the Bergenias will also do well.
Rhododendrons (M) and Azaleas will also flourish if allowed just a little dappled light. Azalea mollis is a fine deciduous Azalea for woodland and shaded areas.
Eythronium - the Dogs Tooth Violet - has a number of varieties which are suitable for dry shaded areas. The image above shows Erythronium grandiflorum (R)
For damp shade areas, The King Cup
(Calatha palustris) makes a good
show in the early spring - so do
some of the primulas such as the new
‘Wanda’ types. Hostas of course -
but do watch out for slugs. Monardas
(Bergamots) are also worthy of a
place. If it is not too damp, then
the Foam Flower (Tiarella
cordifolia) is also a must. This
will also do quite well in a dry
situation. For something quite
spectacular in early spring, treat
yourself to one of the many
Camellias .
Tiarella
cordifolia
Camellia
Debbie
Hosta Honeybells
The herbaceous and other Perennials are the best range of plants for
shaded places in the garden. For many of them, it is their natural
habitat. Some will do equally well in full sun or quite heavy shade.
All of the hardy garden
ferns
are also suited to varying degrees of shade. In this group we will also list the few biennials that regularly
re-seed themselves, so for practical purposes can be classed as
perennials - even if not right botanically. The best example of which
being digitalis - Foxgloves.Best Bedding Plants for Shaded Areas
Perennial Plants for Shade
Climbing Plants for Shaded Areas
Other Areas of specific interest | Plants for Damp Soil | Plants for Dry Banks | Plants with Yellow Flowers | Plants with Pink Flowers | Plants for Shaded Gardens |
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